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Sweet 16 Picks
Syracuse vs Butler
3/25/10
The Syracuse Orange was met with a chorus of criticism after losing their final
two games before the NCAA Tournament. Was the negative talk justified? We don’t
think so as the Orange has cruised to the Sweet Sixteen despite having to play
without Arinze Onuaku. They will meet a ferociously competitive team in their
next game; the Butler Bulldogs. It promises to be their toughest game thus far
in the Big Dance. Butler is riding a 22 game win streak behind the strength of a
young starting lineup. It will be interesting to see who will take the top
honors and advance to the Elite Eight.
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have Syracuse favored by -7 over Butler with a Total of 138
The Butler Bulldogs haven’t lost since 12/22 on the road against UAB. The best
win in that span during the regular season came against MAAC Champion Siena.
They dispatched a wily UTEP team in the first round with a fair bit of ease
despite trailing at half time. They were atrocious from the free throw line
sinking 18 of 28. Games are won and lost at the charity stripe and Butler must
take advantage of those shots. They are called FREE throws after all. G Shelvin
Mack was unconscious in the first round sinking 7 of 9 three point attempts for
a total of 25 points. Stars Matt Howard and Gordon Hayward were solid with 11
and 13 points respectively.
Butler again found themselves trailing at half time in their second round game
against Murray State. They once again rebounded for a win taking the game 54-52
over the Racers. The Bulldogs were poor from the free throw line sinking 11 of
19. G Ronald Nored had 15 points from 6-9 shooting. Gordon Hayward added 12
points. Strong defense helped Butler avoid a loss against a Racers team that won
31 games this year. They can’t afford another slow offensive night against
Syracuse.
The Syracuse Orange posted a win the first round over the severely overmatched
Vermont Catamounts. It was a bit of a revenge game as the Catamounts shocked
Syracuse and sent them home in the first round back in 2005. The Orange won this
time around by a score of 79-56. They were strong offensively shooting 54.5% and
sinking 9 of 11 free throws. Wes Johnson steadied the team with 18 points. Andy
Rautins contributed 11 points and 6 assists. Scoop Jardine added 14 points. Rick
Jackson had 12 points and 8 rebounds.
The first round game didn’t tell us much about how good Syracuse is. We know
they are stellar because of their record (30-4), and the fact that they
dismantled a tough Big East conference during the regular season. The Orange
followed their win over the Catamounts up with a stunningly easy 87-65 victory
over Gonzaga. Big East Player of the Year Wes Johnson had a career high 31
points and also grabbed 14 rebounds. Andy Rautins was lights out too. He had 24
points and 4 assists. Arinze Onuaku did not play in this game and his status for
the future is not known at this point. Wes Johnson had a slight injury coming
into the game but proved that it was bothering him.
This should be a great game between two very good teams. Butler plays strong
defense. Syracuse does too and sports a 2-3 style. The return of Onuaku would be
big for ‘Cuse, but they can still win handily without him. It would be quite a
surprise if Butler was able to win the game, but they may be able to keep it
close and cover the spread of 7. However, we will go the other way. Syracuse has
been nearly unstoppable when playing their best ball. We except to see a near
perfect game from them as they march into the Elite Eight.
Predicted Score - Syracuse 72 Butler 62